Confessions
by Storm Princess
Summary: Set in the episode 'Same as it Never Was.' Leo has something vital to tell Raph, but he's not quite sure how to say it.


A/N: This is set shortly before the turtles go to fight Shredder. Enjoy and review!

**Confessions **

Raph worked hard as ever in the dojo, pummeling the punching bag with everything he had. He remembered how much time he used to spend in the old dojo, all those hours of training he put in. Before all this happened. Before everything was destroyed.

_Yeah, a fat lot of good all my training did me. I still ended up losing an eye, losing my father, and losing my brother. _

He shook his head and refocused. Although he was able to battle when he was thinking, he was noticeably better when he wasn't. And fighting at his best had already cost him so much; he had to fight harder so that he wouldn't lose more. He wasn't sure what else could be taken from him, but he wasn't about to tempt fate by asking.

He in the middle of doing a Dragon Punch when he sensed another presence behind him.

_Definitely Leo. Mikey doesn't care to hang around here, and there's not much chance Donnie will just pop in either. Eh, maybe if I ignore him, he'll leave. I'm so not in the frame of mind for a lecture right now._

When Leo didn't leave, Raph growled and muttered something under his breath. Then, for Leo's benefit, he raised his voice and summarized.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer."

Leo didn't respond immediately. If Raph didn't know better, he'd think he was at a loss for words. His brother stepped forward.

"I'm glad Donnie's back."

Raph shrugged, at a loss as to why his brother was even bringing up.

"Yeah."

"We need him Raph. _You _need him. I haven't seen you as happy as when you first saw him in years. Many years."

"It's not that big a deal, Leo."

"You _hugged _him, Raph. When's the last time you hugged anybody?"

Raph shrugged again. "He'd been gone for thirty years. If you go away for thirty years I'll hug you too."

Leo arched a brow, and looked at his brother. He wasn't nearly as blind as everyone thought, but since Karai/Shredder Jr. had led the attack on their home and sprayed god-knows-what- in his eyes, they were extremely sensitive to light.

His brother was attacking the punching bag with his usual aggressiveness, but Leo noticed something was off about his younger sibling. He appeared to be… hurting, somehow. It wasn't that unfathomable, really, in a couple years his brother had gone through more then most people do in a lifetime. And it was all his fault. It almost hurt to be around Raph, his eye and demeanor were a constant reminder of his mistakes.

"I'm sorry."

The simple statement came so far from the left field that Raph was caught off guard.

"Come again?" He made sure to keep his normal scowl in his voice, but that didn't faze Leo in the slightest. No doubt he was used to it.

"I'm sorry." And then the words came faster and faster. "It's my fault we lost Sensei, it's my fault Mikey lost his arm, and you lost your eye, and mostly, it my fault that you and I are-"

"Uh-uh." Leo's stopped in midsentence as Raph gripped his shoulders hard enough that he was sure his brother was going to shake him. "Leo, don't even start. I don't even wanna hear whatever little goodbye speech you have planned. We're gonna be fine, Leo. Donnie is back, and you and I both know that with the genius back, were unstoppable." He did shake his brother then, but not violently. "We're going to be fine."

Leo was surprised at his brother's words. To an outsider, they might seem harsh, or cold and uncaring, but Leo could see past that. Right now, he was looking past his brother's tough demeanor, his seemingly insensitive words, and he saw it. Raph didn't think they were coming back either.

And Leo had a whole new appreciation for his brother then. He and Raph didn't get along well, and sometimes, especially during the past few years, their relationship was downright brutal. But even so, Leo knew that, even if Raph was only subconsciously aware of it, his brother did care about him. And this was his way of letting him know. If they did die today, he wasn't going to let his brother go down thinking he hated him. But, likely because of his pride, Raph couldn't say it directly. He said it the way he did because he couldn't do it any other way.

He loved him.

He sighed, and nodded in acknowledgement of his brother's words. Only then did Raph release his shoulders. He seemed somewhat reluctant to do so though, and Leo could understand that. He knew what he needed to do. His brother was hurting, and there was a good chance that they would die, and he would never be able to tell his brother how he felt. Let him know he loved him too.

After a second's hesitation, Leonardo approached Raphael and wrapped his arms around him. Hugging him. He was hugging him for the first time in- god; he couldn't even remember how many years. Raph wasn't responding, so Leo took the initiative.

"I love you, bro."

Raphael wasn't sure which surprised him more; the random hug, or the open display of affection from the eldest. Because of the tension between them, it had been so long since they had actually hugged each other, much less openly declared that they cared about each other. In all reality, Raph wanted to say it, but his pride kept him from doing so. Instead, he simply hugged his brother back.

"I know."

He didn't say anything else, and when Leo finally let go of him, he looked… hurt. Like he was expecting something. Of course, Raph knew what that something was.

"Well, see ya." Leo turned to walk out, but a word from Raph stopped him. He was saying something, so softly that Leo could just barely hear him.

"I love ya too, bro."

And that was how their final conversation ended.


End file.
